Friday, February 3, 2012

When Johnny Went Marching Home

How did our "Judeo-Christian" American society get to the place where the widow of a World War II veteran who spent her life teaching young people not only how to read and write, but how to behave in a civil manner, is threatened with losing her home of over fifty years because she doesn't have the money for a new roof?

Her husband not only served his country in the US Navy, and met his future bride at a USO dance, he and she served as officers of the VFW for several decades, traveling all over the country to make sure that we never forget the men and women who sacrificed everything for our freedoms. Their only son spent his life as a military nurse, saving countless lives to continue in the service of OUR country. He died of cancer several years before his father, leaving a sister who is also a nurse the full responsibility of her aged parents' care. She cannot leave her work to care for her mother, and her mother only has the memories that surround her in the home she and her Johnny shared, now that her Johnny has gone marching HOME.

She continues to serve in the VFW and loves the city of New Orleans and Louisiana so much that she continues to travel to the French Quarter to tell everyone who stops into the Tourist and Commission office on Jackson Square about the many blessings of being a native New Orleanian. We should be naming her the patron saint of Yats, but instead, she is worrying about how she's going to keep a roof over her head. Really?! Is this the best we can do?

2 comments:

No, it isnot the best we can do! However in many cases since our greedy politicians, in an effort to please and get re elected have spent and spent so there is no OFFICIAL MONEY left, so it is up to the everyday charities, churches and caring individuals.

Funny how much of other peoples money folks will spend to get re-elected so they can promise more of the public's money.

You know my heart goes out to the widows and orphans who have no one to care for them. I think most Americans are touched by the difficulties of such matters - but then we look around and see ourselves being hood-winked by some (not all, but some) who contrive to get money without having to work. This matter of benevolence is a very sensitive one. Dealing with it from experience, I have often had to refer to the following: 1 Timothy 5:16 "If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed." The first line of defense against hard times for Widows and orphans should be their families and close personal acquaintances.